


The strings that tie us together will never break

by The_Obscurial



Category: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (Movies), Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Angst, Characters with PTSD, Credence is 19 and needs a hug, Destiny is a Bitch, Drama & Romance, Grindelwald is a fucking liar, M/M, Manipulation, NSFW in later chapters, Post-Movie(s), Slow Build, So much angst, Soulmates, Wandless Magic, Wizarding Wars, Work In Progress
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-02
Updated: 2017-03-06
Packaged: 2018-09-27 22:29:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,666
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10054343
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Obscurial/pseuds/The_Obscurial
Summary: Gellert Grindelwald is back in the game, but so is Percival Graves and while Credence has yet to decide on which side of the war he wants to fight, Albus Dumbledore has made a decision.. or so he thought.





	1. Prologue

#### 1899

“Sometimes it feels like everything in this world is connected by strings and if we could just pull them, it would change the whole course of fate. We are connected to our past, to our future and to every person that plays a role in our story. Some of those strings are thin and easy to break, some are very short, tying people together that should never be apart and some are so strong that neither time nor distance will ever be able to break them, no matter how hard one is trying… Do you believe in destiny, Gellert?” Albus turned his head slightly, a light smile dancing on his soft lips. “Are you even listening to me?" 

“If your theory is right, Albus, then our string must be so strong that not even death could tear it apart,” Grindelwald said after a while, his eyes still fixated on the bright blue sky above them, while they were lying in the grass next to each other.

“I can’t tell if you’re serious or if you’re making fun of me.”

“Can you ever?”

Albus poked him in the side playfully, chuckling. “Gellert please.” 

“I would never make fun of you.” Grindelwald was laughing now, turning towards Albus and pulling him closer. “And yes I do believe in destiny. I think it is ours to change the world, to save it and to create a better one.”

“Do you really think two people are enough to change the world?”

“If those two people are you and me, it would be enough,” Gellert replied with a sincerity in his voice that always managed to amaze Albus. “I think together we are able to achieve everything, no matter how impossible it seems. Limits are for ordinary people, Albus, but we are far above ordinary.”

There was a flicker of something Albus couldn’t name igniting in Grindelwald’s mismatched eyes as he spoke and in that moment Albus was sure he would never stop loving him, he was sure that Grindelwald was right and not even death would be able to break their bond. 

“Why are your eyes so blue?”

Albus was pulled out of his thoughts as he heard the question. “What?”

The look in his face could tell that it hadn’t been Grindelwald’s intention to say that aloud.

“Your eyes,” he flipped his hand in Albus’ direction, “They have this special shade of blue, which nothing else has.” It was his favourite colour, this colour only Albus seemed to possess, but Grindelwald kept that to himself.

The words made Albus blush slightly. He was always bad at taking compliments, not knowing how much he deserved each and every one of them.

“I don’t deserve you.”

“No, the truth is that I don’t deserve you and I’m afraid one day you’ll find out,” Grindelwald said quietly. He was still smiling, yet something dark seemed to be hidden behind his words, unable for Albus to hear.

 

The bitter thing about truth is, that it will always find its way and the truth was that there was darkness in Grindelwald’s heart, a darkness Albus’ light couldn’t reach, a darkness that ripped them apart in the end.  
Albus was young and rebellious when they met. Sick of pride, blinded by love and a vision of the future he and Grindelwald once shared, but Ariana’s death changed everything. He was left devastated and full of remorse, while Grindelwald vanished and continued his search for the elder wand to start his war against the world.

Killing ‘For the Greater Good’. 

Now Albus’ words seemed like a painful truth to him, because no matter how far away their paths led them, no matter how hard both of them tried to cut the string that seemed to connect them, it didn’t break and that was driving both of them insane. Throughout the years, Albus forced himself to look away, to turn a blind eye to all of Grindelwald’s terrible deeds and Grindelwald tried to forget, but they were always a whisper, a memory in the other’s head and they knew their paths would cross again.

 _Sooner or later_.

* * *

 

#### 1926

Grindelwald was staring at the stone wall in front of him, the chains around his wrists rattling silently as he moved them slightly. It was almost sweet how the Aurors thought a cell as simple as that could hold him, how they thought tied up hands could stop him from using his powers. In fact it wouldn’t be difficult for him to leave this pathetic prison cell the MACUSA brought him into, yet he made no attempt to escape, for something was begging him to wait for the right moment.

“How tiring.”

His usual sick and arrogant smile was still placed on his lips, but now it was just a façade for his growing impatience and his anger about all the mistakes he had made. All those stupid mistakes which had led to this situation in the first place. Nothing went according to his plan and Grindelwald still couldn’t understand how he could have been so blind. Having the Obscurial right in front of him, talking to him, touching him and still being unable to see him. All his effort seemed to be wasted for nothing.

A sigh escaped his lips, as he let his fingers run through his white-blond hair.

“So what now?”

He spoke to no one in particular and he didn’t really expect an answer, yet as he leaned back with closed eyes and as his head touched the cold wall behind him, a familiar feeling started to cloud his thoughts.

Observation: That was the moment he’s been waiting for.

Hushed whispers filled the silence of the cell. A cold shiver ran down his spine and Grindelwald took a sharp breath, while the world around him seemed to stop spinning, while his heart seemed to stop beating all at once. Grindelwald was sure that was the vision he’s been waiting for and he felt almost giddy as the colourless shapes and faceless figures around him slowly took form.

 

_There was a huge mass of silhouettes. They were talking to each other, not really paying attention to Grindelwald as he passed them. With steady steps he walked through narrow alleys made out of shadows, searching for whatever he was supposed to see, until suddenly a voice broke the silence._

_“Help me.”_

_It sounded weak and somehow desperate, causing Grindelwald to walk faster._

_“Help me.”_

_There was the voice again, louder this time and as Grindelwald continued following the source of this painful noise, he could feel the world around him turning colder with every of his steps. After a while a dead-end forced him to stop. Great. With an annoyed expression he turned around to walk back, but as soon as he took the first step, his eyes widened._

_There was a boy in front of him with dark hair and skin as pale as the moon, staring at something Grindelwald couldn’t see. Dark shadows where dancing around his slender form and as the boy slowly turned his head, Grindelwald took a careful step back._

_“The child is dying.” The boy whispered, black blood painting his lips. “You need to hurry.”_

 

Grindelwald opened his eyes. He was back in his small dark cell and his whole body was shaking.

“Credence.”

The boy in his vision was Credence without any doubt, but he was dead. Wasn’t he? No he must be alive. A nagging voice in his head had told him right after he saw him disappear in that subway tunnel, that he can’t be dead, but he had ignored it and now he wanted to punch himself for it.

Confession: Another mistake.

Mental adjustment: But there was still time to fix this and his other mistakes all at once if he only acted quickly now.

“I’ll find you,” he whispered to himself, staring at the stone wall in front of him, while he arose from the dusty ground. “Because everything in our world is connected with strings and ours still seems to be intact, dear Credence. I can still fix this.”

The triumphant grin was back on his lips, as he walked to the wall in front of him, muttering: “Your pathetic walls and chains and cells are not build to hold me, for I am a storm. Try to catch me, try to chain me, do as you please, but you can’t catch wind with bare hands.”

And like wind, like smoke he vanished into thin air.

 


	2. The Fool

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please note: The chapters with odd numbers are written from Grindelwald’s point of view and the ones with the even numbers are written from Credence’s point of view.

_Wake up wake up wake up wake up_

Credence’s mind was a mess, a chaotic completely havocked mess. Fractures of memories mingled with screeching sounds and silent screams, while a mass of voices kept talking in his head. One of those voices, which sounded a lot like his own, begged him to wake, even though Credence was sure that he wasn’t asleep. He was moving without a body, deaf and blind to the world.

_Wake up wake up_

The voice sounded alarmed, but no matter how hard Credence tried, it seemed impossible to escape this nightmare and all he could see was a black mass, a black, unsteady, swirling mass that clouded his vision and trapped him.

_WAKE UP_

He felt himself falling. A dull cracking sound. Silence.

Credence was laying on the cold ground as he awoke from his trance-like state. Remnants of the dark swirling mass were still clinging to his shaking body and the ground beneath him was cracked. He looked like a fallen star, violently crashed upon earth and staring at the sky above him with wide eyes. His vision was blurry at first and his whole body felt completely numb, but as he tried to take a deep breath, the numbness was suddenly gone and a wave of pain shuddered through his veins like liquid fire.

For a short disturbing moment Credence was sure he was heavily bleeding, but as his vision became clearer he noticed that it was in fact rainwater that soaked his dark clothes until he was completely drenched. He made an attempt to move, trying to escape the cold rain, but regretted it right away as the next wave of pain hit him even harder than the first one. He howled like a wounded animal. No one heard him.

Credence’s lungs burned horribly, or maybe it was something else in his chest, like his ribs or his heart, maybe even everything at once. He couldn’t tell. Besides he couldn’t even tell where all the pain came from. From his fall? Maybe. But more likely it was caused by the magical lightning that had attacked him down there in the subway tunnel. _The subway tunnel_. Memories flooded his brain. Memories of a faceless group of people, raising their wands and-- _Stop. Stay focused_. Not an easy task, the boy mused, while everything in him twisted with overwhelming agony as he tried to push those memories aside to make space for the more pressing question: Where was he and how was he not dead? Credence made a second attempt to move, again without any luck, but with a lot of willpower, he managed to turn his head slightly, hoping for a hint to find out where he was.

There was a wall, a high brick wall. _Great_. He could be fucking everywhere in fucking New York. For a second he turned pale, because he wasn’t allowed to curse not even in his thoughts, but then he remembered that Mary Lou was gone and couldn’t hurt him anymore.

She was gone.

More memories came to his mind and this time he was unable to stop them. He remembered the pain and anger he had felt – still felt – about Mr. Graves’ betrayal, he remembered the destruction of the city and the dark force, the dark mass he couldn’t control. _How had Mr. Graves called it? Right, the Obscurus_. Mr. Graves had been in the subway tunnel, as well as a man with a kind voice and a woman who had seemed somehow familiar. They had talked to him, trying their best to calm him down, maybe even trying to help him, but then the other people came and attacked him. It had felt like dying and yet he was pretty sure he wasn’t dead now. Credence was also sure that dying was still a possibility, since he couldn’t move and would soon either freeze to death or drown in rainwater. Both didn’t seem appealing to him. _On the other hand- No stop it!_

The sound of silent steps pulled him out of his thoughts and Credence’s heart skipped a beat as he heard them, but then the sounds faded and a terrible realization started to sink in as the silence hovered above him like a dark veil again: He would definitely die here. Motionless he would wait for death or his rescue, whichever was more gracious and whichever would come first.

“Help me,” he whispered unsure to whom he was speaking. God? Surely not, for he didn’t believe in God-- or at least not anymore.

“Help me.”

Minutes went by, or maybe even hours and nothing happened. His hands felt numb, probably because of the cold, maybe also because of those painful magical lightings that had hurt him, maybe even because of the painful transformation he had to endure to escape the black mass and silent tears streamed down his cheeks, almost invisible in the rain. He was completely and hopelessly lost, too lost to hear another pair of steps coming closer.

“Credence?” said a voice in his back, a cold voice, causing the boy to flinch.

He wanted to turn around, but moving was still too painful and there was no need for turning around anyway, as the man walked around him and kneeled down in front of him, staring into his eyes somehow relived. The stranger seemed familiar, yet Credence was pretty sure he’d never seen this face before and for a moment everything went quiet, except for the hollow noise of falling rainwater and Credence’s erratically beating heart.

“Are you the devil?” Credence’s voice was hoarse and he felt his body slowly giving up again. _Just give in_.

The man carefully placed a hand against Credence’s wet forehead and replied with a barely seen smile. “Yes.”

Credence tried to move away from the touch, but gave up halfway as the comforting darkness was luring him in once more. _Just give in_. This time, he closed his eyes and let himself fall.

The rain stopped.

* * *

Credence opened his eyes again after what felt like an eternity.

The first thing he noticed was that he wasn’t outside anymore, but in a room which was probably a living room judged by the interior. The next thing he realized was that he wore dry clothes and that he was laying on a comfortable couch, covered by several blankets. He tried to sit up, which was surprisingly easy and took a deep breath: The pain was gone. The painful pressure on his chest was gone as well and as he took another deep breath, he closed his eyes in bliss.

It took him a moment to notice that he wasn’t alone in the room. There was this strange man with the pale hair, standing at the open fire and staring into the flames like a madman. He didn’t seem to have noticed that Credence was awake, until--

“You’re awake,” the man said out of a sudden without turning around, as if he could look without actually looking and with a flick of his hand the lamps in the room ignited, bending to his will. He was a wizard, Credence thought, trying to understand what was happening. Why had the wizard brought him to his home? Could he be one of those wizards that had attacked him? He was alarmed for a moment, but then--

“I’m your friend. Don’t be scared.” The pale wizard was still staring into the fire, clenching and unclenching his hands without noticing, while he spoke. It seemed to be a habit. It reminded Credence of someone. He couldn’t say who. For a moment Credence was lost in thoughts, until the man turned around and walked across the room to the place where Credence was sitting and for the first time Credence was able to actually look at the man that had saved him from his misery.

This wizard was surrounded by a somehow disturbing atmosphere, he noted, and something about him made the boy’s blood run cold, probably his two different eye-colours - One was grey, while the other one was bright blue – or maybe the twisted smile that danced upon his lips. A cold shiver ran down Credence’s spine as their eyes met and still he couldn’t shake the feeling off that this man--

“You seem familiar,” the boy said, before he could overthink his words.

“That’s because we know each other.” The man had a strange accent. Credence decided that he liked it, but nonetheless the sound of his voice was crawling under his skin like poison.

“I don’t think so, except you really are the devil.” Speaking still hurt, his throat was sore.

“You will know me.” It sounded like a promise. Credence was confused and he was even more confused, as the man made a strange looking gesture with both his hands. What Credence then saw made his heart stop: He transformed. The man in front of him changed his whole appearance right before Credence’s eyes. White-blond hair turned black and his pale piercing eyes turned brown. That wasn’t possible.

“—Mr-- Mr. Graves?” He blinked twice.

For a moment he was speechless, then relieved, but then the anger he still felt towards the man returned.

“Actually my name is Gellert Grindelwald,” the man said and transformed back into his cold self. “I just borrowed dear Percival’s face to find you, but now there’s no more need for masquerading.”

“So more lies then.” Credence sounded bitter. “You even lied about your name and your appearance, you basically lied about everything. I trusted you, but you used me and then you abandoned me when I needed you!” He didn’t mean to scream, because it caused him an enormous amount of pain, but he just couldn’t hold it back. He was tired of holding back all the time and he was furious.

“I’m pretty sure you tried to kill me. So we’re even,” the man that wasn’t Mr. Graves stated, way too calm.

Credence felt his head spinning again, he was angry, but too weak for a real reaction. He was even too weak to turn into this black mist again, which was actually more a relief than anything else. “We’re not even, Mr. Gra-- Mr. Grindelwald.”, he said after a while, pulling his legs close to his chest. He desperately wanted to leave, wanted to escape this conversation, but he knew he couldn’t. The first problem was that he couldn’t stand up and even if he could he was sure Mr. Grindelwald wouldn’t let him go and even if he would, Credence had to admit that he had no place to go.

“Anyway,” The sick smile was back on Grindelwald’s lips, while he looked at Credence like a predator staring at his prey. “We’re somehow back to where we already were. I lied to you and you were angry, but now we’ll talk about this without causing a mass-destruction, ok?” It was meant to be a joke. Credence didn’t laugh. “I came to New York to find you, to find the Obscurial the vision showed me. I made a mistake, a horrible mistake – I admit that – but I still found you, just not how I’ve planned it. And now we’re here, dear Credence.”

Credence liked the way he said his name, but shoved that thought quickly away. _Not helpful now_.

“A horrible mistake,” Credence repeated in silence, avoiding Grindelwald’s glare. “That’s what you call it.”

“Forget your anger for a moment and listen-“

“What?! You manipulated me, you betrayed me and now you want me to listen to you??” He would cry, if he wasn’t consumed by blind anger again.

“I also saved you - Twice - and I healed your wounds, didn’t I?”

“.. You… did, but that doesn’t change anything. I don’t trust you. I don’t even know who you are.”

“That didn’t bother you before.”

The words hit Credence harder than they should, but they were the truth: He’d known nothing about Mr. Graves and he was still ready to do everything for him. And now the man had another face and another name, yet his promise still seemed to be the same. _Don’t be an idiot. He’s manipulating you again._

“I owe you an apology,” Grindelwald said. “I’ll make it up to you.” Credence wanted to believe him. “I was stupid and blind, but now we know the truth: Yours and mine and we should look forward.”

Credence took a deep breath and shook his head. “Forward.” _He’s manipulating you_ , the words echoed in his head, _and it works._

Grindelwald sat down beside him and after a quick movement with his right hand, a glass filled with what was probably water appeared in Grindelwald’s hand. He gave it to Credence, who eyed it suspiciously.

“Drink,” he said and as Credence still hesitated he added: “Your throat hurts. That should help.”

That was enough to convince Credence to lift the glass to his lips carefully, because his hands were still slightly shaking and he took a small sip. This wasn’t water, he thought, but it tasted like heaven. He took another sip.

“I’m being honest,” Grindelwald said with a stern tone in his voice, while he watched Credence emptying the glass. “I won’t leave the city without you. I’m taking you with me either way, but I would prefer it if you followed me voluntary.”

“Why should I?” he sounded way weaker than he intended to while he set the glass back on the table, careful not to break it. He hated to admit it, but even after everything that had happened he still wanted to go with this man.

“Because even if you don’t trust me, I’m your only friend out there. You don’t have a place to go to, the non-wizarding world doesn’t care about you and the magical world would hunt you down if they knew that you’re still out there,” Grindelwald explained. “I can teach you to control your power. Oh Credence- just think about what we could achieve together. I mean you’ve gone through hell and back and you’re still alive to tell the tale. You’re a miracle and I was too blind to see that. You want freedom? You want to be stronger? Maybe you even want revenge on this world that always took more from you than it gave to you. I can give you all of that and I promise that you’ll never have to suffer again.”

Credence stared at him with an open mouth as if he wanted to rebut, but he remained quiet. Everything seemed like a strange dream, or more like a nightmare with the only difference that he wouldn’t wake up this time. Yet the worst of it all was: Grindelwald was right. He had no other options.

“I’m not known for being a patient man.”

“Fine,” Credence said, staring in those disturbing mismatched eyes until he could no longer bear it. He felt like he just made a deal with the devil. “I guess I don’t have another choice.”

“Clever boy.”

“Actually I feel more like a fool.”

Grindelwald laughed. “Don’t you know that the fool is the most powerful card in tarot? He’s a child full of unused potential, he has the greatest power of them all, but still a long way to go in order to master it. He’s the first trump card of the Major Arcana and represents the beginning of something new, the start of a journey. Actually it fits quite well.”

“The start of a journey,” Credence leaned back. “And where does it end? What do you want to achieve?”

“I want to change a rotten system. I want to be free and I want to free us all in the process. I see myself as a martyr, but most wizards mark me down as the villain. You know what? We are quite alike, you and I: They are afraid of us, because we are different. I want to create a new order, a better world. Soon you’ll understand.”

There was madness in Grindelwald’s eyes, the devil’s eyes, yet Credence wasn’t afraid, because in whatever nightmare he now seemed to be trapped, it couldn’t be worse than the nightmare he already had survived. Or so he thought.

Suddenly an alarmed expression came to Grindelwald’s face and he seemed distracted with something for a moment, before he said: “We must leave. Now.” He started to mutter something more to himself than to Credence. “Someone detected my illusion. They know I’m gone. Someone- No this can’t be. You bastard-” He turned to Credence and asked: “Can you walk?”

Credence would laugh at him for that comment, but he was too polite therefore, as well as too petrified by Grindelwald’s almost nervous behaviour. “I can barely sit,” he said.

“You underestimate your powers. A bad habit of yours -- Here,” He stretched his hand out for Credence. “I’ll help you. Believe me you’re strong enough again.”

Credence hesitated, staring at the hand as if it would attack him any moment before he finally grabbed it in an unsure almost timid way. The hand was cold, just like the rest of this man.

“Good.” Grindelwald helped him to his feet. “See?”

Credence felt a bit light-headed, but Grindelwald was right, he was strong enough to stand, probably even to walk, maybe just maybe even to run. As he took the first step, he was able to catch a glimpse of his own reflection in a mirror near the door. He looked like death: His eyes were darker than they should be, almost black, while his lips seemed to have lost all their colour.

“Are you ready?” The question brought Credence’s attention back. He nodded and Grindelwald placed one of his cold hands on Credence’s right shoulder.

Together they disappeared and reappeared again somewhere outside New York, if Credence’s assumption was correct. It was strange to travel like that and for a moment Credence thought he might throw up, but the sick feeling vanished as fast as it came. 

It was still daylight as the two of them walked through what seemed to be an abandoned construction area and suddenly it occurred to Credence that he had no idea how much time had passed since he escaped from his attackers in the subway tunnel. Grindelwald seemed to have heard his question, like if he could read his thoughts, because he said: “It took us the whole night to deal with that Obscurus-problem. I left the subway tunnel in chains by dawn and you vanished. I thought you were dead. I was in prison for some hours, waiting, until I received a vision in which I saw you. It took me one hour to find you and you’ve slept for approximately two hours in that hotel room, so it must be around 7 pm now.” He didn’t face Credence as he spoke and his eyes were transfixed on a certain point in the middle of the unfinished building. “Do you remember anything after the incident? I mean between vanishing in the tunnel and waking up in the alley?”

“No,” Credence said but after a second thought he added “I think I wandered around without a body, barely alive and barely existing, until I fell.

“You fell?”

“I can’t explain it. It felt like falling and then the crash woke me up. I couldn’t move and everything hurt and then I called for help.”

Grindelwald turned his head slightly, revealing an almost gentle smile: “I’ve heard you.”

They climbed over half-finished walls to enter the building and while Credence did his best not to trip over something, Grindelwald walked straight to a certain place in the middle of the biggest room. With a hushed spell, he opened a secret door in the ground.

“Wait here, Credence, I’m right back,” he said before he entered the hidden chamber and Credence obeyed without thinking twice about it. After a while he could hear some muttered curses from down there. There was a loud noise, followed by an unpleasant silence and one moment later Grindelwald came back, furious.

“He’s gone,” he whispered with an angry look in his eyes, while the secret door turned invisible again. “But he can’t be gone for long, since I was here just two days ago. Lucky bastard, you must have escaped while I was still imprisoned by MACUSA. I’m sure it was you who revealed my illusion. I should have killed you. I really should have killed you, while it was so easy.”

“Percival Graves,” said Credence almost mechanically. It wasn’t a question, it was a statement. “You’ve kept him down there, while you stole his face, right?”

Grindelwald turned around and nodded: “Yes.”

“Will you search for him now?” Credence hated the worried tone in his voice, he felt like a child.

Grindelwald thought about that question for a moment, then he shook his head and this sick cold smile was back on his lips as he replied: “No that wouldn’t be a wise decision, given that the whole MACUSA is now after me. Also I’m sure our paths will cross again one way or another. All in its proper time.”

Somehow Credence knew that his words were true, yet he hoped they would never meet the real Percival Graves. Something told him, it would only lead to a greater misery, also he felt bad for Mr. Graves, a man he had never met, a man he didn’t know, a man that probably would have attacked him as well in that subway tunnel and yet he felt bad for him.

“I’ll gather my few possessions and then we’ll leave the city,” Grindelwald said, before he brought them back to the heart of New York with his magic. Credence didn’t know how he called it - this vanishing and reappearing - but he made a mental note for asking about that later. 

As soon as their feet touched the stone pavement of a small alley, Grindelwald transformed into a tall man with green eyes and rough stubble on his chin. “Better safe than sorry,” he explained. His voice was different now as well, deeper somehow. It didn’t suit him.

The city seemed busy as always as they walked through the broad streets, yet an odd tiredness lingered on all the people they passed. Credence was still unsure how he should feel about this situation. He was excited somehow, yet he felt trapped. Trapped in a spider’s web, surrounded by tons of strings, unsure which of them to pull, which to push or which to follow. Either way it seemed like Grindelwald had them all in his hand, all the strings and it didn't matter in the end what Credence decided to do. _Just accept your fate_ , a voice in his head told him, Credence was sure it was his own. There’s a saying that the devil doesn’t come to you with his red face and horns, but he comes disguised as everything you’ve ever wanted and Credence knew it was true. It felt like the devil was walking right beside him, but that didn’t made him feel scared – the truth was he felt powerful.

“There’s no need to be afraid, when the devil is your friend,” Grindelwald commented as if Credence had said that aloud, which he sure as hell didn’t.

 _Out of my head_ , he thought, unsure whether Grindelwald had heard him, unsure if he would care even if he had.

They seemed to have no real destination, while they walked through this labyrinth of streets and alleyways and only stopped two times: Once at the Woolworth building and once in front of the church where Credence had lived and suffered for so many years. The building was silent and almost peacefully, like if nothing had happened here. Someone – probably one of the Aurors – had even repaired the damage Credence had caused. Credence wanted to burn it down.

“Do you want to say goodbye to your previous home?”

“I guess I already did, when I left the night I killed Mary Lou,” Credence answered quietly, yet without any hint of remorse in his voice, before he turned away from the building. _Home_. The word sounded wrong.

The sun began to sink slowly and Credence was sure he had never before felt as free as he felt at this precise moment. His feet hurt, he was deadly tired and he felt like he could faint any moment, but still he could sense a power crawling through his veins, he had never felt before. His mother and years of suffering couldn’t break him, the Obscurus as well as those wizards couldn’t kill him and he was almost convinced that Grindelwald wouldn’t be able to destroy him as well, no matter how hard he tried.

The sunset bathed the city in a warm reddish light and the way the sunlight fell in Grindelwald’s face, made him almost look eternal. For a short moment Credence wondered how his true face would look like in the light of the setting sun. Maybe he would look like a god, maybe like a demon. The way Grindelwald suddenly moved his wrists brought Credence’s attention back. The wizard made a quick movement with his hand and a thin piece of paper appeared between his fingers. Something like a card. He gave it to Credence with a smirk.

“Here’s the beginning of your story.”

“The Fool,” Credence almost smiled as he stared at the tarot card in his hand. Almost. “What is the next one?”

“The Magician.”

**


End file.
